“[Manfred] Karge, now 77, has been called ‘East Germany’s Orson Welles’ or ‘the Brandenburg Beckett’ – though those aren’t comparisons he is comfortable with. … ‘Beckett knew exactly how he wanted his plays to be performed. Mine don’t even have stage directions.'”
Category: theatre
Controversial Play About ISIS Canceled In London
“Homegrown, a National Youth Theatre (NYT) production, was closed down last Thursday, with the creators saying they were given no prior warning. Director Nadia Latif and playwright Omar El-Khairy believe the production was cancelled due to external pressures, claiming both local authorities and police got involved during the development of the play.”
Why Calling Something “Children’s Theatre” Is Self-Limiting
“Identity-based representation practices that reinforce constructions of child/adult will generally limit the meanings of cultural codes, exploit children’s performative labors, promote ideological doctrines, exclude children from voice in production/representation, and reinforce acceptance of the idea that children are not fully people.”
How To You Contextualize Theatre To The Audience It Wants To Serve?
“What quickly became apparent is that the local authority officers share our ambition to find ways of increasing the perceived “usefulness” of the arts and asking: if the regular audience to theatre comprises only 8% of the population, what might the other 92% be interested in?”
A First: Theatre Company Asks Taylor Swift For Song Rights Over Social Media And…
Five days before opening, all conventional efforts exhausted, the company resorted to trying to reach Swift on social media and in what may be a first, she granted the rights via Twitter just hours ago. While I suspect there are some contractual details to be worked out beyond “Permission granted,” presumably the tweet from Swift gives Belvoir Street enough comfort that they can proceed.
Do New York Theatergoers Really Dress Like Slobs? And Does It Matter?
Alexis Soloski: “Mostly I’m in favour of dressing down. It seems democratising to me. Less elitist. It makes theatre seem like the kind of thing anyone and everyone can go do, which is what I devoutly wish. (Well, that and cheaper, better wine at the concession stands.)”
There Are Plenty Of Reasons I Don’t Need The Theatre. And One Reason I Do That Trumps Them All
“I am a reporter on The One Show on BBC One, where we get audiences of up to six million. At Edinburgh, the space I play seats 350 people. I am 67, I have six grandchildren, I have been an MP and a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, I have books currently in print in 24 countries around the world; I don’t need this. But I’m doing it – for four weeks, with just one day off. Why? Because the Edinburgh Fringe changed my life.”
NEA Appoints New Director Of Theatre Program
“Until spring, Greg Reiner was managing director of New York’s Classic Stage Company. He also served for four years as executive director of the Tectonic Theater Project and for seven years as managing director of the Actors’ Gang in Culver City, Calif.”
Broadway’s Hottest Show Is Pissing Off Tony Voters
“I can understand the impulse — they’ll be among the top three moneymakers, and that always looks good — but a rule of thumb in this business is, don’t alienate Tony voters,” a veteran press agent says. “You don’t want to look high and mighty.”
The Problem With Cutting Theatre In Schools Is That It Cuts Audiences In Theatres
“My own fear about drama getting smaller in regular public schools like Lakeshore is that it limits the ability of kids to stumble upon it – and that affects not just future theatre professionals, but future theatre audiences.”